In Costa Rica, or Panama or Honduras, wherever they’d migrated, when the piggy bank was empty, my maternal grandmother worked shifts in a local brothel to put food on the table.  She wasn’t a regular sex worker but rented rooms by the hour.  If she couldn’t afford the fee, she

“I don’t care if you are a Christian… you don’t get to dictate the way I live my life based on your religion.” The rant about abortion rights appeared on my Facebook page and as an atheist, I was sympathetic.  Because Christianity is the dominant religion in this country, s

She heard the roar of angry voices in the corridor and ran to hide in the bathroom.  “Where is she?  Where is she?’  The masculine voice in the outer room was insistent.  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez flattened herself against the wall as the door behind which she was hiding opened

The thief was furious when he found a 4-year-old child strapped into the back seat of the car he’d stolen.  His response was to slam on the brakes and reverse direction.  Finding the mother newly emerged from the grocery store with a gallon of milk, he scolded her for leaving her

His public defender said my testimony had saved his client from the death penalty.  I’d worked with the prisoner in an ex-offenders program while I was in public life.  His first incarceration was for theft. When he came to the program, I  found him personable and recommended tha

The day after Joe Biden’s inauguration, a friend emailed me a question. “What should I make of this,” she wrote. Her note included the remarks of a woman she’d known most of her life and who, decades earlier, had served as Maid of Honor at her wedding. Having assumed they were

“I love America. I love the people. I didn’t hurt anyone and I didn’t cause any damage in the Chamber.  I got caught up in the moment and when I saw the door to the Chamber open, I walked in…”  These words probably capture the sentiment of many of those who took part in th

(Because of the events of last week, I feel this blog bears repeating.) Few would argue against the notion that under Donald Trump’s Presidency, American democracy has been tested at all levels of government.  How far that testing has gone is a cause for concern for many. Recently,

The  headline read, “The Milky Way is Probably Full of Dead Civilizations.” Given that the planet is undergoing a pandemic, I read on.  Possibly the article contained a warning that the end was nigh. Apparently not. Astronomer Frank Drake came to his conclusion about dead planet

I don’t write much poetry because it’s work. Poetry is precise and guided by the principle that “less is more,” even as it attempts to squeeze the meaning of the universe into a ball.  Mathematics, also a language, is similar.  E=MC(2) could be appreciated as a line of poetr